Apple: Pretty Produce, Imperfect Product (dotcom)

Name: Dylan

Age: 28

Works for: Unemployed. Dylan took a year off. He was a data scientist at Yahoo.

Lives in: San Francisco

Last thing watched / read / listened to / seen: Westworld

How was it?

Cerebral

Major News Source: 

NPR

Brands on the Street:

• Aldo
• Apple
• Express
• J Crew

Why these brands?

I like the style of J Crew and Aldo. As for Express, I like the quality and the jeans are really cheap. Apple, they just make good products. They always work when I need it.

Impact on Society

With Aldo, J Crew and Express I really don’t know. I know that Apple has historically had a pretty negative impact on certain aspects of society, especially in China.

Are you aware of any “shared value” imparted by these brands?

Well, there is one company that I have been into lately. Imperfect Produce–they don’t really have a big brand yet but they are growing in the Bay Area. They sell produce that is “imperfect” and that is something that I want as that produce is not always acceptable by mainstream stores. Many people tend to go after the prettiest produce that looks perfect in every way but if I can make the choice to choose produce that may not sell, it is good for society…and schools can get that produce at a cheaper price because it is certainly cheaper.

Did shared value drive these purchasing decisions in any way?

No

Would you switch to a brand that was just as good but that offered more shared value?

I would need to be presented that information easily. There is a lot of information that, if I had it at my fingertips would make that decision easier. I don’t want to do a lot of research on how high-quality my shoes are if they are high quality in my experience and I don’t always have time to research the social good a company does.

I don’t go out of my way to do that. It would be great if there was an easier way to do that. (Dylan, we here at BotS agree and hope to help sometime soon)

Does shared value drive any other of your purchasing decisions?

no

Aside from purchasing decisions, is there any way you personally try to do good in the world?

The big part of the reason I took a year off was to do charity work here in the city. I do a lot of work with Code for San Francisco.

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